Sunday, September 18, 2016

It’s not every
day you hear a familiar name on TV, but if you’ve ever watched AMC’s TURN:Washington’s Spies then you’ve certainly come across one of the show’s main
characters, the dashing Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, who helps maintain George
Washington’s military intelligence operation during the Revolution.

If you’ve ever
wondered whether there was a connection between this character and Akron’s
neighbor to the northeast, the answer is absolutely YES.Tallmadge (played on the show by actor Seth Numrich) was founded in 1806 by Rev. Davis
Bacon, and Colonel Tallmadge was one of the first property owners. Bacon named
the township after Tallmadge precisely because of his well-known, highly-respected
name, which was known throughout New England.

While a major landowner
and investor, Tallmadge was never a local resident. He maintained his home in
Litchfield, Conn. and was happy to support Bacon, a missionary whose religious
views he fully shared. Eventually, Bacon obtained a contract of purchase with Tallmadge
and the other dozen or so investors in the settlement, which stipulated that
whenever payment of any part was secured, a deed would be delivered for that
part.

Tallmadge was leader of the Second Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons, also known as Tallmadge's Dragoons.

While much of Colonel
Tallmadge’s notoriety comes from his espionage activities, he had an equally
distinguished service in more conventional military activities, participating
and leading forces in several important military actions against the British
and their Tory sympathizers. After the war, Tallmadge flourished as a successful
businessman, land speculator, and served several terms as a Federalist
Congressman. He died in 1835.

It’s important
to remember that years ago, a large section of east Akron was actually part of
Tallmadge, which extended down across Chapel Hill and down through Goodyear
Heights towards Middlebury, until it was eventually annexed by the city. Even
today, if you look at a map of Akron, you can see that for the most part, there
really is no “northeast Akron”—what would
be is mostly Tallmadge, and Cuyahoga Falls.

As for Bacon, his plans for settlement did not offer much personal success; there was little hard cash available for new residents to buy land, and he was forced to return to New England after 1811. Bacon's idea was a good one, it just took longer to develop than he expected. Those who did stay here held on long enough to see the settlement prosper and grow into a successful town and today, their descendants can claim a prosperous city.

With that in
mind, it seems appropriate that we take a moment to enjoy Colonel Tallmadge’s
newfound posthumous fame. It makes the TV show that much more fun to watch.